How can contact center agents handle peak demand and avoid long queues?

Defining goals must be identified to be that of the associate and not that of a team. It is imperative that associates are well informed and is only done through training, Coaching, and real time feedback. Remember, agents will always be doing their best to succeed, it will help them if we let them discover the Power of One.

Historical and Forecasted Volume plays a big part in optimizing schedule. Optimization will ensure you have the most number of people to when you need it.

Our contact center agents and those of our clients have flexible work schedules which have been tailored to match customer demand. This includes staggered breaks and shifts designed around high-demand periods.

To optimize staffing in a contact center, focus on analyzing customer contacts and associated intents: 1. **Analyze Customer Contacts**: Examine historical data to identify common customer intents and their volume. 2. **Align Staffing with Intents**: Schedule agents based on the anticipated demand for specific intents, ensuring the right expertise is available. 3. **Route Calls Effectively**: Use intent analysis to direct calls to the most suitable agents or self-service options, enhancing first-call resolution. 4. **Leverage Workforce Management Software**: Automate scheduling adjustments to match staffing with peak intent demands, minimizing idle time while maintaining service levels. This strategy addresses staffing and CX.

It is alwqys a super power to have a great wfm that will be able to help you in correctly forecasting your hc since there are so many factors tp consider. Tools, knowledge of your wfm team and historical data plays big roles in ensuring you have the right staff, most of the time. Although, the other side of it should be how we handhold operations in ensuring they have the proper guidance when executing actions on the floor. Great collaboration between both teams will help tremendously in making sure that we will be able to, the very least, pass our service levels without running our ops teams to the ground

We deployed a Customer-Led Conversational Voice Assistant over 2 years ago to help handle some of the simple call types, FAQs and transfers. From day 1 it handles over 80% of that call type ( over 40,000 calls per month) which freed up my agents to handle more complex and revenue producing calls. The virtual agent uses natural language and is not robotic and interacts very well with my callers. We have since been training to handle more complex call types so callers don’t have to wait to get their issues resolved. Making it easier for customers to do business with us. Digital when you want and Human when you need.

We utilize AI and automation in our contact center. This is a strategic move to help in efficiently managing routine and simple queries. This not only reduces wait times and maintains consistency but also allows our human agents to focus on more complex issues, ultimately enhancing the quality of service we provide to our customers.

Proactively provide other channels to do business. For example, if you're a collections team, send an sms payment reminder with a link to pay digitally.

Offer effective digital engagement options and allow the caller/customer to initiate the solution to their challenge on their own. This beats waiting for a call-back.

Having the right people at the right time in a right place can handle contact center peak hours, reduce call handle time and, avoid unnecessary breaks and increase contact center channels to handle peak hours load. Utilize shifts and schedule based on the forecasted load.

During peak demand, customer service agents can prioritize urgent cases, cross-train staff for flexibility, utilize self-service options, and set realistic expectations. Efficient queue management through call-back options, virtual waiting rooms, and transparent wait times can enhance customer experience. Additionally, agents should remain empathetic, actively listen, and provide clear resolutions to address customer concerns promptly. Leveraging technology like chatbots and AI-powered assistants can also help manage high call volumes.

To handle peak demand and avoid long queues, agents can **leverage technology**: 1. **Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)**: Route calls to the right agents based on skills and availability. 2. **GenAI-Powered IVAs**: Use AI-generated customer intents to route calls or direct them to self-service options, improving accuracy and efficiency. 3. **Call-Back Feature**: Offer customers the option to receive a call when an agent is available, reducing hold times. 4. **After Call Work (ACW) with GenAI**: Automate post-call tasks, saving agents time while ensuring consistent data entry for improving products, services, and processes. These solutions streamline peak demand management and improve service.

I find this to be the best way to utilize staff effectively. If the role is clearly defined and the staff is trained on how to handle calls effectively you create a positive work environment. Developing staff takes energy and resources but it helps to be proactive and not reactive.

Metrics in CX drive behavior so be careful what you measure and reward! NPS is helpful but transactional NPS is usually correlated to issue resolution. Use AI and track call deflection using chatbot and IVA.

One thing that I have found helpful has been gamification. Incorporating friendly competitions to improve their metrics, has a direct correlation to improved efficiencies, in turn improving service levels and performance.

@Monique Rivera, haven't experienced gamification to manage traffic in a Call Center. May you please share how that works? An added benefit I imagine would be staff engagement which is critical in the Call Center.